Have Mercy On Your Soul
by avadakedavra14
Summary: Harry is having horrible summer. Who will save him from his uncle? A man in black. Warnings: abuse, rape nondescript, eventual slash ON HOLD for now...
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1

"You useless, good-for-nothing leech!" CRACK! "We should have gotten rid of you when we had the chance!" SLAP! "What the hell do you think you were doing giving my son burnt bacon!" CRUNCH!

This was an everyday occurrence for Harry Potter. Wake up, make breakfast, do something wrong, get 'in trouble'. Of course being 'in trouble' is a little bit of an understatement…

Harry's uncle hit him. Regularly. Not just a slap here or there, but true beatings. True, vicious beatings. Belts, whips, knives… Anything within reach was fair game for use on Harry Potter.

"You will DO as I SAY! Do I make myself clear?"

Harry's jaw was so sore he could barely form his answer. "Ye uuma ver…"

"WHAT did you say Boy?"

"I said yes Uncle Vernon," said Harry with a great deal of effort.

"Now, I am going to work and when I get home, I expect that entire list of chores to be done. Understood?"

"Yes"

"Excuse me?"

"Yes sir."

"Much better."

Harry looked to the doorway. Both his Aunt Petunia and his cousin Dudley were standing, leaning against the wall smirking at him. Harry had decided that they enjoyed Harry's torment. _How can someone do this to their own flesh and blood?_ Harry asked himself. _Not that I don't deserve it… After all that I have done…_

"Freak," his uncle spat and walked out of the room.

* * *

"**_What? _**What did you just ask me to do headmaster? I am sure I heard you wrong."

"I asked you to go and check on Harry for me."

Severus Snape was beside himself. The headmaster wanted HIM to check on POTTER. The two of them couldn't be in the same room for half an hour without screaming at each other, and he was supposed to go and make sure he was okay?

"Headmaster, may I ask why you feel it is necessary to check on Potter? After all, you have never sent anyone to check on him in years past. What is different about this year?"

"Well Severus, it appears that Harry's letters, while coming every three days, are short and uninformative. The only information they contain is that the Dursleys are treating him fine and that he is getting his homework done. His friends, Sirius, and Remus are all very worried about him. They say something is wrong."

"Now Albus, really. The spoiled brat is probably just on a pity trip about his 'oh so terrible life'. Either that, or he has absolutely no consideration for those who might worry about him."

"All the same Severus, I would appreciate it if you would make sure that he is alright."

"Headmaster, surely there is someone else you can ask this of? How about Lupin? Or another teacher? Or the Weasleys? I'm sure they would love to help precious Potter. Or even Black?"

"Now Severus, you and I both know that Remus, Sirius, and the Weasleys are on a mission for the order. And most of the teachers from this school are on vacation over seas. And before you ask, I have important meetings with the ministry that cannot be avoided."

Severus could see that he was trapped. How was he supposed to get out of this one? Dumbledore was always a step ahead of the game… And that _damned_ twinkle in his eyes!

"But Albus…"

"Severus, I have made up my mind. You will go and check on Harry. And just so you know, you are starting to sound like a whiny first year."

That shut Snape up. He must be spending too much time around the students. He really was sounding like a first year complaining about something so trivial. But it was that Potter brat! The bane of his existence! _Grin and bear it Severus. This is nothing. Just knock on the door, see Potter, yell at him for a few minutes about making everyone worry, and then come back to school and enjoy the rest of vacation in peace._

"Yes headmaster… I will do as you ask." _There he goes again! With that damned twinkle! I wish I could take a knife and just carve out his eyes to get rid of that twinkle…_

"Very good Severus. I would appreciate it if you would do this sometime today. Thank you."

Severus left the office wondering what he had got himself into…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harry heard his uncle's car pull into the driveway. He had worked all day at top speed, and he was still unable to finish all the tasks assigned for the day. He knew he was in for it, but he had forgotten how bad things could get…

"BOY! I'm home! You better have those chores done or you'll get what's comin' to ya!" There was something wrong with Vernon's voice Harry noticed. He knew that slur from somewhere. Harry walked out to meet his uncle with his head hung low. "Did you get those chores done boy?"

"No Uncle Vernon. Sorry Uncle Vernon. I tried my hardest Uncle Vernon."

"Try your hardest I'm sure. Probably layed around all day like the lazy dog you are. Wouldn't be surprised if you got tossed out of that nasty… _school_… for not doing your work." Something was wrong. Vernon never mentioned Harry's school. And he knew that sound from somewhere…

"Uncle Vernon, I did do some of the chores. I mowed the grass, painted the fence, cleaned out the garage, did the dishes…"

"Shut up boy. I don't need to hear your pathetic groveling." As Vernon advanced on Harry, Harry smelled something… Beer! His uncle had been drinking! This was not a good sign. The last time he drank… well… Harry didn't want to think of that.

Vernon raised his hand. Harry knew what was coming. He steeled himself and tried to pull himself away. SMACK! Not fast enough.

"Don't you dare try to run away from me boy! You freak!" He hit Harry over and over again. He knocked Harry especially hard in the stomach and Harry doubled over, fell to the floor, and gasped for air. Once on the ground, Harry's uncle kicked him in the stomach. Harry curled himself into a ball to try to protect as much of his body as possible. His uncle kicked him again and again. In the head, at the base of his spine, in the shin, even in the nose. Then all of a sudden, it stopped. Harry just lay there and wondered what was going on. His uncle never stopped this soon. And then he knew. FWAP! He was struck with the belt. Harry bit his lip in an effort not to cry out… God it hurt so bad. His uncle continued to hit him with the belt over and over and over again. Harry lost count of how many lashes he received. He couldn't think anymore, could barely even breathe through the pain. After what seemed like hours he was dragged by his hair and thrown into his cupboard. _The cupboard under the stairs again. It's been a while since I've been here. Something bad must have happened._ Then through the door, his questions were answered.

"You FREAK! You'll learn not to use your abnormal-ness on me! How dare you ruin my job! Keep yourself OUT of my AFFAIRS!" So that was it. He must have been fired. _I wonder if I actually did unconsciously ruin the business… It would have been much more fun that way… Wait! Fun? I must be losing my mind._ After a little while, Harry passed out from the pain.

An hour or so later, Harry was woken by his uncle. He was dragged out into the living room. As Harry looked around, he wondered where his aunt and cousin were. _Must have gone out shopping or something, _Harry thought.

He flipped around and looked at his uncle. Vernon had an evil glint in his eye. _This can't be good,_ mused Harry. Then he heard it. The sound he hoped never to hear again. The metallic sound of a zipper. _No, _thought Harry. _No, no please. Not again. Please not again._

Harry felt his pants being ripped down. _This can't be happening, _he thought. But it was. It was no dream. The last thing Harry felt was a ripping sensation at the base of his spine…

When he woke up, his uncle was standing above him with something metallic in his hand.

"This is the last time you wrong me boy. I will not tolerate this anymore. I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago." His uncle dragged him by his hair to Dudley's second bedroom. The room was devoid of anything except for a bed and handcuffs. Vernon cuffed Harry to the bed and stood above him. "Goodbye boy." BANG! A shot echoed through the room.

* * *

Severus Snape apparated to the corner of Privet Drive. He quickly transfigured his robes into muggle clothing and swept down the street to number four. _How quaint,_ he thought. _Perfect little Potter, living in the perfect little house on a perfect little street. Worshipped by the muggles I bet. Saint Potter, savior-of-the-bloody-world. Bet he hasn't done a damn thing one day of his life._

Snape strode quickly up to the door of the house and knocked. From inside he heard blundering as if an elephant was approaching the door. A large, fat, nearly purple-colored man answered the door.

"Yes?" he snapped. "What do you want? Make it quick."

"I'm here to check on Po… Harry. I'm one of his professors from Hogwarts."

"So," answered the man. "You're another one of those freaks. Well I won't have that type of abomination in my house. I've had enough of it as it is. Now, if you'll excuse me…" The man attempted to close the door.

_Freak? Abomination?_ Thought Snape. _What is going on?_

Snape quickly put his foot in the door. "Now sir, I am only here to make sure Harry is ok. I will be on my way in a minute. Now if you please…"

"Harry is fine. Now if you would please remove your foot…"

Snape pulled out his wand and forced his way into the house. "Now see here," blundered the man, "this is my house and I will call the police and have you arrested for breaking in and entering if you do not leave this instant."

Snape pointed his wand at the man and asked in his steely tone reserved for intimidating his students, "Where is Harry?"

The man quailed under the wand and pointed up the stairs. Snape quickly walked up the stairs. First room was obviously the master bedroom. Second room was apparently a guest bedroom as it appeared furnished, but uninhabited. Third room was filled with every type of muggle toy imaginable. Pictures lined the wall of an incredibly fat boy and his friends and family. Not a single picture of Potter anywhere. _I thought this would be the room Potter would have…_ The last door in the hallway was covered with locks and bolts. _This doesn't look good. Why would Potter be under lock and key? _Snape quickly spelled the locks open and opened the door.

He was hit with a sensation of pain, despair, and… guilt? Snape staggered backward, hit with the nearly overwhelming smell of blood. It made him physically sick to his stomach. He quickly recovered and looked around the room. Just two things were in the room. A desk covered with parchment and a bed. He was about to turn around when he noticed something on the bed… handcuffs binding something to the corners… He took another step closer. "Lumos." He whispered. And there was the one and only Harry The-Boy-Who-Lived Potter, lying broken and beaten on the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N Thanks for the reviews! Makes me feel all tingly. I'm glad some people are enjoying this. It's just something I have always wanted to write. I'm borrowing different things from different stories, so thank you all for inspiration! If I would like to use something specific, I will of course ask the author first and give credit, but others are just ideas. I love reading stories like this... A bit depressing, yes, but they are interesting. Well, keep reading! I will upload new chapters as often as possible, but I warn you, I'm kindof lazy...)

* * *

Chapter 3

Severus Snape had never seen a sight like this. Blood covered the boy. One eye was swollen shut and bruises and cuts littered the face. _What is that smell? Oh dear god… That is the smell of stale sex! What have they done to the boy?_ He quickly approached the bed and spelled the cuffs open.

Harry opened his eyes and looked up wearily. "Professor Snape? Is that you?"

"Yes Harry."

"I'm sorry sir. I haven't done my homework…" The tone of the boy's voice nearly broke the professor's heart. It was so… broken. _Blood… There is so much blood, _thought the professor. He picked up the now unconscious boy and brought him downstairs.

"Where's the boy's things?" He asked the man he now assumed to be Vernon Dursley in a deathly cold tone of voice.

"Burnt."

"_WHAT?"_

"We burnt the boy's things. I will _not_ stand that abnormality in this house!"

It took all of Snape's control not to avada kedavra the man right there on the spot. "You will pay Dursley. When I get the chance, believe me, you will pay." And he apparated away to the gates of Hogwarts.

* * *

Snape hurried in a very un-Snape-like manner up the grass to the doors of the 

castle. He shouldered his way through them and cast the sonorous charm on himself. "Albus! Poppy! Hospital Wing NOW!" He then undid the charm and sprinted as fast as he could to the wing. The boy was bleeding freely and was as white as a ghost. He had already lost so much blood. No time could be spared. When the professor reached the hospital wing, the headmaster and Madame Pomfrey were already waiting for him.

"Severus, what is the hurry my young man?" Albus enquired good-naturedly, oblivious to the bundle in the man's arms.

"It's Ha- Potter, sir," Snape quickly explained and deposited the child, no, man, he was never a child, on the bed.

Madame Pomfrey gasped. "Severus, what…?"

"Heal now, questions later," gasped Severus.

Madame Pomfrey nodded her head and quickly got to work. She spelled off the boy's shirt to get a better look at the damage and gasped. There was a gaping wound in his stomach. She quickly attempted to heal the wound with magic, but the difference it made was almost unnoticeable.

"Severus, my boy, what happened?" questioned Albus.

"His relatives. That's what happened. You sent the child to live with a goddamn child abuser Albus!" exclaimed the Potions Master.

"Severus, I'm going to need a blood replenishing potion as soon as possible."

Severus quickly ran out of the room toward his room and private stores. He had been so wrong. He, Severus Snape, had misjudged a person. Why hadn't Harry said anything when he had called him spoiled? Before he knew it he had grabbed the potion and returned to the hospital wing.

"Albus, I have never seen a boy in such poor condition!" exclaimed Madame

Pomfrey. "He's been shot! Do you know what that means Albus? A metal bullet, fired at very high velocity right into his stomach! I almost guarantee that it was meant to kill! KILL Albus, KILL!"

"Poppy, how is Ha- Potter?" questioned Severus.

"The injuries are astounding. 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung, gashes covering his entire back, the word 'FREAK' is carved into his back also, bruises almost completely covering his body, dislocated jaw, his left arm is broken in three different places, his left ankle is completely shattered, the gun-shot wound, astounding blood-loss… and… he was _raped_! How could anyone do such a thing to a child?" Poppy exclaimed before breaking down completely. Severus quickly administered the potion to the unconscious boy laying on the bed.

"Poppy. Poppy!" Albus attempted to get the medi-witch's attention. "Poppy! Will Harry be alright?"

"Sorry headmaster. Yes, I believe he will be alright. There was a point there that I wasn't sure, but I believe him to be nearly stable. Mental health is another issue altogether though…"

"Severus, I believe that when Harry is stable that it will be best for him to live with you for the rest of the summer in your chambers. You _do_ have the expertise in dealing with abuse victims. I believe it would be good for _both _of you if you too were to overcome your… differences… and learn to work together," suggested the Headmaster.

"But headmaster, surely experience with one child does not constitute expertise. And young Rowe's situation was not as serious as this."

"All the same Severus, you must admit that you _do_ have the most experience in this matter. You are the best option that we have and I have the utmost confidence in you."

"Yes headmaster," Severus complied.

* * *

The next day, Severus was watching Harry when he woke up. The only noticeable change in the boy's demeanor was silent tears flowing down his cheeks. Severus placed his hand on the boy's shoulder to try to calm him. All that occurred was that the boy flinched a mile and moved away. Severus quickly withdrew his hand and tried another tactic. 

"Harry, Harry are you alright?"

"Pro-Professor Snape?"

"Yes Harry. Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't mean to cry. It won't happen again."

"Harry, there is nothing wrong with crying."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

Severus sighed. _The boy apologizes for apologizing! How am I supposed to help this boy? No. He's a man. No child should have gone through what Harry has. Wait a minute, how long have I been calling him Harry?_

"HARRY!" Severus shook himself back to reality as a cloud of bushy hair ran past him and threw itself at Harry. A tuft of red hair was behind it, standing at the foot of the bed. A piercing scream filled the air. When Severus looked over, Harry's mouth was wide open in terror. A mere split second later, his face became completely blank, with dead, emotionless, unseeing eyes. Hermione, the owner of the bushy hair backed up and looked at Harry.

"YOU FOOLS!" screamed the professor. He quickly pushed her aside and called, "Poppy! Poppy come quick! Something has happened!"

"Professor?" ventured the bushy-haired witch. "What's wrong with Harry?"

"You! Do you know what you've done? What made you think you could come in here and just run at him like that? Do you not think at all? I thought someone as 'overly-intelligent' as you would have more sense than that!"

"Severus, it was not her fault. I did not inform them of what has befallen young Harry," the Headmaster interrupted.

"Everyone out now!" screamed the medi-witch. All occupants of the room quickly left, scared of the witch's wrath, barring Severus. He grabbed Harry's hand and refused to let go, although he decided not to examine too closely his reasons for staying. He knew something was terribly wrong. Madame Pomfrey quickly evaluated Harry and sighed.

"Poppy! Poppy what is it? What is wrong with him?"

"He's gone catatonic Severus. Completely unresponsive. It must have been the shock of being rushed by that Ms. Granger. It is a response to distance oneself from something. In this case, he is probably afraid of being abused anymore and, although unconsciously, decided to distance himself from the world. I really don't know what to do for him. I have never seen this happen, only learned about it. I guess all we can do is wait and talk to him, let him know that we won't hurt him."

"Oh god…" muttered Severus.

"Careful Severus. Someone might start to think you care," the medi-witch teased.

"Oh just shut up Poppy."


End file.
